This article is from page 20 of the 2007-12-04 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 20 JPG
DEPUTY Joe Carey (FG) has called into question the commitment of the minister of transport to the people of the mid-west, following the min- ister’s response to Dail questions by Deputy Carey last week.
On ‘Tuesday last, Deputy Carey raised the issue of the designation of the Shannon-Heathrow route as a public service obligation route (PSO).
Deputy Carey said that the minis- ter’s response confirmed that “the Government is continuing to treat the Shannon-Heathrow issue with a slight hand, laden with political am- bivalence.
The designation of Shannon-Heath- row as a PSO first needs to be raised with the British authorities, and then a case made to the EU and for the ap- plication to be published in the EU
Journal,” said Deputy Carey. “The response | got from the minister was to the effect that contact with the EU has been requested at an early stage. There was no sense of urgency in the minister’s response, just further fob- bing and prevarication.”
Deputy Carey is now calling for contact with the British authorities to be made, and a genuine and pressing case made to the EU within weeks.
The Fine Gael deputy said that “Both industrialists and tourist bod- ies in the mid-west are facing an un- certain new year as the Government continues to drag its heels on this.
He added: “If this route were to be designated as a PSO, it could facili- tate continued connectivity for the west of Ireland to the world’s largest hub at Heathrow.”